Scientists Find Dragon-like Dinosaur Fossil

Suara.com – To scientist in Australia found fossils new species flying reptile in west Queensland and said the fossil resembled a real-life dragon.

The fossil is believed to be from the largest flying reptile ever found in Australia.

“The new pterosaur, which we named Thapunngaka shawi is a terrifying animal with a mouth like a spear and a wingspan of about seven meters,” said Tim Richard, PhD student at the University of Queensland’s Dinosaur Lab.

Richard led the research team, analyzed the creature’s jaw fossils found in western Queensland, the northeastern Australian state, and published the research in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

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“This is the closest thing we have to a real-life dragon. It’s basically just a skull with a long neck, paired with a pair of long wings. This object would be very savage,” Richard added, quoted from News Sky, Wednesday (11/8/2021).

Pterosaurs are the winged cousins ​​of dinosaurs. More than 100 species of reptiles have been discovered varying in size, ranging from the size of a fighter jet to as small as a sparrow.

Thapunngaka shawi is one of the larger species with a skull size, more than one meter long and has about 40 teeth that serve to catch fish.

The new species belongs to a group of pterosaurs known as anhanguerians, which inhabited every continent about 140 to 92 million years ago.

According to Richard, these animals are perfectly adapted to flight because they have thin bones and are relatively hollow.

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In addition, the fossil remains of this species are also rare and usually not well preserved.

“It’s amazing that fossils of this animal still exist. With Australia’s poor pterosaur record, but Thapunngaka’s discovery contributes greatly to our understanding of Australia’s pterosaur diversity,” Richard concluded.

The fossil was first discovered by local fossil expert Len Shaw in June 2011 northwest of Richmond, before now scientists were able to identify the species.

The species name was chosen in honor of the First Nations people in the Richmond area, where the fossil was found, and the now extinct language of the Wanamara Nation.

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